Outdoor sign supporting post

ABSTRACT

THIS DISCLOSURE RELATES TO A SIGN POST COMPRISING A LONGITUDINAL CENTRAL PORTION AND A SIDE PORTION BENT BACK ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID CENTRAL PORTION IN SUCH A WAY AS TO OVERLAP THE EDGE OF A SIGN BLADE WHEN A SIGN BLADE IS SECURED TO THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE POST. SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT PERMITS TO SECURE TWO SIGN BLADES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE POST AT 180* INTERVALS. AA RETAINING MEMBER IS ALSO PROVIDED FOR SECURING AN ADDITIONAL SIGN BLADE AT 90* FROM THE FIRST BLADE.

NW. 35, 1971 M. GIRARD OUTDOOR SIGN SUPPORTING POST Fild Jan. 7, 1969 2 Sheets-Shoot 1 IN VI. N TOR A T'IOR NE Y "Nov. 30, 1971 GIRARD 3,623,255

OUTDOOR SIGN SUPPORTING POST Filed Jan. '7, 1969 2 Sheets-Shoot B IN VEN'I'UR Marcel GIRARD United States Patent 3,623,255 OUTDOOR SIGN SUPPORTING POST Marcel Girard, 3872 De la Peltrie, Montreal 26, Quebec, Canada Filed Jan. 7, 1969, Ser. No. 789,496 Int. Cl. G09f 7/18 US. Cl. 40-145 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to a sign post comprising a longitudinal central portion and a side portion bent back on opposite sides of said central portion in such a way as to overlap the edge of a sign blade when such a sign blade is secured to the central portion of the post. Such an arrangement permits to secure two sign blades on opposite sides of the central portion of the post at 180 intervals. A retaining member is also provided for securing an additional sign blade at 90 from the first sign blade.

This invention relates to signs and more particularly to a sign post to which one or more sign blades may be selectively afiixed at 90 intervals.

Various types of signs are known in the art. They generally comprise a post to which may be secured one or more sign blades by means of various fixtures which are usually separate from the post and the sign blades. Such signs require additional elements to secure the sign blades which increase the cost of manufacture and furthermore can be easily lost in the field.

It is the main feature of the invention to provide a sign post which eliminates the need for a separate fixture to secure the sign blades to the post, and yet admits selective positioning of the sign blades.

The sign post, in accordance with the invention, comprises a longitudinal member having a longitudinal central portion and a side portion which is bent back on opposite sides of the central portion in such a way as to overlap the edge of a sign blade when it is secured to the central portion of the post. The above arrangement allows for the positioning of two sign blades at 180 from each other such as it may be required.

In accordance with a second feature of the invention, a retaining member may be provided for securing a sign blade at 90 from a first sign blade as it is also often required. The retaining memebr is secured to the central portion of the post and holds such a sign in position.

The invention will now be disclosed with reference to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates generally a sign in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of the Sign post taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section of the post taken generally along the same lines as FIG. 2 but showing in addition a retaining member in accordance with the second feature of the invention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 1, there is shown a sign comprising a post 1 to which is secured a sign blade 2 which may have variable widths as illustrated by the dash lines. A second sign blade 3 may be secured to post 1 at 180 from sign blade 2 as it will be explained in detail later on. The lower part of post 1 may be sunk in the ground or supported on a base as it may be required for each particular application. Post 1 may be made of galvanized steel or any other suitable material.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1. The illustrated post comprises a central portion 1a and two side portions 1b which are bent back on opposite sides of central portion 1a. The side portions 111 further have a portion 10 which is bent inwardly in such a way as to contact the edge of sign blades 2 and 3 which are secured to central portion 1a of the post by means of bolt 4.

Portions 1b and 1c of the post may be bent using any suitable tool depending on the material used.

The post configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 is for the purpose of illustration only and it will be understood that side portions 1b may take any shape and do not have to extend the full width of central portion In. Any S- shaped configuration (straight or inverted) are envisaged as these configurations permit to secure two sign blades on opposite sides of the central portion 1a of the post and at 180 from each other.

When the side portions 1b of the post extends over the full width of the central portion 1a, such as illustrated in FIG. 2, it is necessary to drill a hole 5 into portions 1b to provide for the passage of bolt 4 and the usual tools for tightening it.

It is to be noted that a single bolt is necessary to secure the sign blades 2 and 3 because the edge 6 of the sign blades rests against the bent back portion 1b and are so prevented from rotating around the single bolt.

FIG. 3 illustrates in cross-section a further embodiment of the invention in which a retaining member 7 is used to secure a sign blade 8 to from sign blades 2 or 3. As illustrated, retaining memebr 7 is secured by bolt 4 to the central portion 1a of the post and holds sign blade 8 against the post. Strips 9 of adhesive foam or any other suitable material may be used between the retaining member 7 and sign blade 8 and between sign blade 8 and portions 1b and 1c of the post to tightly secure the sign blade 8. Although the retaining member 7 is illustrated as having a T-shaped configuration in cross-section, an L- shaped configuration for example, may be used when side portion 1b does not extend over the full width or central portion 1a.

As it is shown in FIG. 4, which illustrates an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3, retaining member 7 comprises an arm portion 7a which is adapted to be secured to portion 1a of post 1 by bolt 4 and a cross arm portion 7b which bears against sign blade 8. Sign blade 8 has a slot 9 for receiving the arm 7a of retaining member 7.

It is to be understood that various modifications of the sign post may be envisaged without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the bent back portion 1b of the post does not have to extend the full length of the post. It may only extend a distance long enough along the upper end of the post for securing sign blades of normal size. The remaining portion of the post may take any configuration.

I claim:

1. A sign post comprising a longitudinal central portion and a side portion extending from each edge of said central portion and bent back on said central portion so that one side portion overlies one side of said central portion and the other side portion overlies the other side of said central portion so as to overlap the edge of a sign blade when a sign blade is secured to either side of said central portion of the post to extend outwardly in opposite directions, and means for securing said blade to the central portion of said post when said sign blade is carried by either side of said central portion.

2. A sign post as defined in claim 1, wherein each side portion of the post extends the full width of the central portion of the post and is further bent inwardly towards the sign blade.

3. A sign post as defined in claim 2, wherein said sign blade is secured to the central portion of the post by means of a bolt, said side portion having a hole therein for allowing for the passage of the bolt.

4. A sign post as defined in claim 1, further including a retaining member which may be secured to the central portion of the post and which is adapted to hold an additional sign blade against the post at 90 from the first sign blade.

5. A sign post as defined in claim 2, further including a retaining member having a T-shaped configuration in cross-section, said T-shaped member having an arm portion which is secured to the central portion of the post and a cross arm portion adapted to hold an additional sign blade, at 90 from the first sign blade, against the edge of one side portion of the post and the edge of the inwardly bent portion of the other side portion of the post.

6. A sign post as defined in claim 5, wherein said additional sign blade has a slot therein for receiving the arm of the retaining member.

7. A sign post as defined in claim 4, further including strips of material disposed between said retaining member and said additional sign blade and between said additional sign blade and said post to tightly secure said additional side blade. v

References Cited STATES PATENTS UNITED 2,098,752 11/1937 Miller a 52--731 2,950,787 8/1960 Walsh 40-145 X 3,312,034 4/1967 Steinmann 527 31 3,315,393 4/1967 Louft 40145 3,449,848 6/1969 Howell 40125 FOREIGN PATENTS 165,749 4/ 1950 Austria.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner I 

